Looking at getting another and see strats with different woods that they are made out of... what difference does the wood make in the overall tone of the guitar?

Any info would be greatly appreciated...






"I love vegetarian food....... it goes GREAT with steak...."

Well, I'm no expert but I'd guess there are many other factors that would affect tone more than the wood used in the body of an amplified, solid-body guitar -- amp type and settings, pickups, string gauge, and technique seem to be key factors contributing to tone...

Setup would also probably have a significant effect -- pickup height is mentioned here often as an important factor affecting tone..

Absolutely agree, OG.

That said, the "harder" lumbers -- ash, maple, ebony, etc -- are generally considered to be "brighter" tone woods than alder or mahogany. Poplar (used in some vintage and contemporary Fender guitars) is roughly equivalent to alder. Basswood......who knows? I wouldn't consider it a tone wood under any circumstance.

HTH

Arjay

Here's a link to a good guide to woods:

http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm

_________________
I traded my car in for a microphone.

There are a lot of factors that affect the overall tone of a guitar but the general rule of thumb is the heavier the wood the longer the sustain.

_________________
'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I hear a lot that basswood is a horrible tone wood... and then I hear a lot about how the mij strats/teles from the 80's are nice guitars...

Well these mij strats (I understand) were made almost exclusively of basswood...

So how could these guitars be considered of good quality if they were made of basswood ???

All I know is my mij E series strat sounds great... and it's made of basswood...

As far as wood in general... I will admit my Gibson LP custom has a very special tone.. and I think that is because of the wood used to make it.. Other than that, I really can't say that any guitar I have owned had a great tone because of the wood...

I stand by my statement.

And Leo didn't think much of basswood either.

My CIJ '65 re-issue sounds great....and it's alder.

I'll wager you lunch the next time I'm at the In-And-Out in Goodyear that your E-series is actually alder.



Arjay

maybe it is alder... after all
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.blackman4/st22.htm

I read here the comtemporary standard is basswood...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Con ... ster_Japan

but mine is a "22" .... sorry for the misunderstanding..

sorry for the hijack...

And you would most likely loose that bet. Many Many MIJ, CIJ are made with Basswood. It weights less then Alder and has a warmer tone.
Most all Reissues 62's 68's and Hot Rod Ri's were Basswood and some were Alder and Basswood caped. ( Fotoflamed RI's) 72's were Ash.
The problem with basswood is that it does not take finishes well, sucks it in doing the process and can show blems so it needs a good sealer.
Look at the Metal guitars from other manufactures, basswood dominated!

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Well you're in luck then......I'm leaving all the basswood-bodied guitars in the entire world for you!



Arjay

That could be yours then. I've done my share of work on Japanese fenders and 90%+ are basswood. Even the new Pink Paisleys and Blue Flower Stratocasters from Japan are Basswood (linden). Or for our British friends a Lime.

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

One of the "ten-percenters" then......



A LPB '65 re-issue from Fender's CIJ "premium" line. I confirmed the alder body when I tore it apart to heave all the junk "under the hood". It's now sporting DiMarzio Virtual Vintage pickups, Fender-US hardware (including a steel-block trem bridge), Kluson single-line repro tuners, milspec CTS pots, CRL switch, and all cloth push-back wiring. Built "like they usta make 'em".

Arjay

And what year is that 65 reissue?

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

That I truly do not know. I got it from the secondary market (Ebay) in late 2007. These are the only markings I could find on the instrument......







Maybe you can make some sense from the serial number.

TIA

Arjay

Your guitar was made at the
Fuji-gen Plant (for Fender Japan), Japan
in the Year(s): 2004 - 2005

from Guitar dater project,, cheers.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.